Leafs' Domi all business

September 9, 2003
George Cross
Toronto Sun

Some unattached Maple Leafs are probably looking forward with eagerness to training camp in Sweden and Finland in the next few days, hoping to meet gorgeous Scandinavian blondes.

Others, like Tie Domi for instance, look at training camp in Sweden like a boot camp held anywhere in Ontario. He said it with a straight face, too.

Domi, 33, probably the most popular Leaf with fans, is all business. In fact, he was all business in the off-season and that's how he hurt his back.

"I didn't do any weightlifting," he told me yesterday. "I was doing some squatting and my back went. It threw my sprint training back three weeks. But it's okay now. I'm ready to go to work.

"I can tell you that I'm really getting excited. I've got the juices flowing again and my mind-set is in the right focus. Bring on the rivals!"

Don't spell Domi's name as Dummy. He's anything but. The tough guy with Albanian blood flowing in his veins doesn't tolerate fools gladly.

Nor does he tolerate opponents who confront him just because they're a few inches taller and a few pounds heavier. Domi doesn't back off from any of them.

If, in the past, he spoke without thinking and got into trouble for it, he has changed all that now. Like when I asked him if he thought the Leafs should sign Doug Gilmour, Stumpy Thomas and/or Joe Nieuwendyk, he said:

"Look, I'm still a player. I don't get paid to make decisions that are up to the team's management. When I retire, things may change."

The thinking man's shinny pugilist refused to be roped into answering a question about the team's decision to hire John Ferguson Jr. as general manager ahead of Neil Smith, Bob Nicholson and Steve Tambellini.

"Here again, I can only say that I'm still a player," Domi emphasized. "It isn't my decision or recommendation. I think that all four were good candidates. Now that they've decided on young John Ferguson, I'm excited for him. I know his father. His father is a good man and an excellent hockey man. If it's up to the genes, young John Ferguson should be okay."

Is Tie excited about going to Sweden?

"Let me put it this way," replied Domi. "I talked to Mats Sundin. He's very excited about our training camp in Sweden. He told me that the whole country knows about us coming and they're looking forward to it. And Mats is eager to show us his city (Stockholm).

"I can understand it. I love the game of hockey and I have a passion for it. So do the Swedes. However, my wife and my three kids love Toronto. They're happy that they can stay here and don't have to move to other cities."

Domi not only is a decent hockey player, but also a smart businessman. And because he's smart, he won't talk about his business ventures.

"I have entrepreneurial blood in me, but I won't tell you what I'm doing," he said. "I will tell you that I plan to retire in three or four years. I'm looking after my body and I think I can play for that long. Look at Gary Roberts. He's 38 and still a great player.

"I want to follow his example -- if my body holds up. I'm taking care of my body now more than ever before. Next year there will probably be a stoppage in NHL play. But I will keep working out to stay in shape.

I reminded him that as far as John Ferguson Jr.'s genes are concerned, for Tie's sake I hope it's not the fighting genes he's talking about

Grossly Abbreviated: a Hockey Book That Could Easily Be Publicized as the Hockey Bible Was Published Recently Under the Name of Total Nhl. It Contains 250 Photographs and Some 150,000 Words About the World's Premier Shinny Loop From 1917 to the Present. It's Distributed in Canada by North 49 Books and Sells for $45 ... Alexandros Alexandris, Consul General of the Hellenic Republic in Toronto and a Great Publicist for the 2004 Athens Olympics, Was Given a Farewell Luncheon by the Ontario Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation. Alexandris Is Leaving to Assume His New Duties as the Consul General in Istanbul ... Marian Stastny, the Former Forward of the Quebec Nordiques and Maple Leafs, Was a Surprise Absentee From the 10th Anniversary Celebrations of Slovakia's Independence Day at the Slovak Embassy in Ottawa on Thursday. Several Ambassadors, Consuls, Military Attaches and Vips Accepted the Invitation by Slovak Charge D'affaires Stefan Rozkopal.